Like his apology to Qatar this week, Benjamin Netanyahu's expression of remorse to Turkey 12 years ago was made under US pressure. Reuters
Like his apology to Qatar this week, Benjamin Netanyahu's expression of remorse to Turkey 12 years ago was made under US pressure. Reuters
Like his apology to Qatar this week, Benjamin Netanyahu's expression of remorse to Turkey 12 years ago was made under US pressure. Reuters
Like his apology to Qatar this week, Benjamin Netanyahu's expression of remorse to Turkey 12 years ago was made under US pressure. Reuters

Netanyahu's apology to Qatar was his first in more than a decade


Fatima Al Mahmoud
  • English
  • Arabic

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday offered a rare apology to Qatar for this month's air strike on Doha.

In a three-way phone call with US President Donald Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, Mr Netanyahu expressed “deep regret” for the attack, which killed five Hamas members and a Qatari security officer, according to the White House.

The Prime Minister also promised that Israel would refrain from launching such an attack again, a U-turn from his earlier threats to continue striking Hamas leaders in Doha.

The apology was the first made by Mr Netanyahu to a fellow world leader in more than a decade.

In 2013, former US president Barack Obama persuaded the Prime Minister to apologise to Ankara after nine people were killed during an Israeli raid on a Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza three years prior.

In May 2010, Israeli soldiers attempted to repel an aid flotilla carrying hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists. The convoy, known as the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, had set out from Istanbul in an attempt to break Israel's naval blockade of the enclave.

Nine people were killed when Israeli marines boarded Mavi Marmara, a Turkish aid ship. Activists said troops opened fire as soon as they boarded the vessel, which was in international waters at the time. The deadly attack sparked global outrage and severely strained relations between Turkey and Israel.

Like his apology to Qatar this week, Mr Netanyahu's expression of remorse to Turkey was made under US pressure during a visit to Israel by Mr Obama.

White House officials said at the time that Mr Netanyahu had called Turkey's then prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan from Israel's Ben Gurion Airport before Mr Obama departed for Jordan.

The Israeli leader “apologised to the Turkish people for any errors that could have led to the loss of life” in the 2010 raid. Mr Erdogan accepted the apology “in the name of the Turkish people”, his office said at the time.

Monday's events represent a repeat of history in more ways than one: a US President pressuring Mr Netanyahu into a rare apology, and an aid flotilla facing resistance while attempting to challenge Israel's blockade of Gaza.

Since the apology to Ankara, Israel has launched at least three wars in Gaza, one in Lebanon and one in Iran, and carried out air strikes on Yemen, Syria and Doha.

A UN-backed commission has even accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, but Mr Netanyahu doubled down during his address at the UN General Assembly on Friday, with no signs of remorse or an apology.

The specs

Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now

Gothia Cup 2025

4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

15 Lebanese teams

2 Kuwaiti teams

Best Foreign Language Film nominees

Capernaum (Lebanon)

Cold War (Poland)

Never Look Away (Germany)

Roma (Mexico)

Shoplifters (Japan)

PROFILE OF STARZPLAY

Date started: 2014

Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand

Number of employees: 125

Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EPowertrain%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle%20electric%20motor%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E201hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E310Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESingle-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBattery%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E53kWh%20lithium-ion%20battery%20pack%20(GS%20base%20model)%3B%2070kWh%20battery%20pack%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETouring%20range%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E350km%20(GS)%3B%20480km%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh129%2C900%20(GS)%3B%20Dh149%2C000%20(GF)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League final:

Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

Shooting Ghosts: A U.S. Marine, a Combat Photographer, and Their Journey Back from War by Thomas J. Brennan and Finbarr O’Reilly

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar. 

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1:  Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6:  The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29:  At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite  a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa. 

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books

Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle

Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)

Updated: September 30, 2025, 2:29 PM`